Sustainability Education in Textile and Apparel: A Web-Based Content Analysis

Sustainability is a composite view of diverse and interwoven themes related to human welfare, economic growth, and the natural environment. Inclusion of education for sustainable development is a crucial paradigmatic shift within higher education. This study examines how sustainability is integrated in the T&A curriculum. 69 educational institutions were selected from the 2015 U.S. rankings of the top 50 fashion merchandising and top 50 fashion design schools and colleges by www.fashion-schools.org. Web-published curriculum of each department/school was analyzed through content analysis. Results show sustainability is being integrated within the curricula of T&A programs in the U.S. Over half offer at least one sustainability embedded course in their curricula. Institutions with graduate programs show stronger adoption of sustainability indicative of faculty expertise and research interests